If home comforts are hard to find at present, away days have been booming. A win at Stoke will equal our record sequence of six successive top-flight away wins in league and cup, previously achieved in 2004/05 (twice), 2005/06 and 2006/07 (twice). Punters will most likely not be going heavy on the goals aggregate for this match, though, which pits the joint meanest (Chelsea) and third tightest (Stoke) defences in the top flight against each other. The Potters have played 12 fewer games than Chelsea and although they have a very good defensive record have only won six in all competitions. They have lost five and drawn 12.

Five of their nine clean sheets have been in 0-0 draws, just like the corresponding fixture to this last season. Chelsea won our last two meetings at the Bridge by one goal to nil.

Unbeaten throughout December, the Potters began the new year with a 0-3 defeat by champions Manchester City. A rotated side then drew 0-0 at Crystal Palace in the FA Cup last weekend.

Fernando Torres remains as the squad top scorer this season, with a 14 goal tally in all competitions. He has scored one goal to Stoke at Anfield, but the striker is still waiting for his first strike at Britannia Stadium as he couldn’t hit the back of the net in his previous four trips to the Potter’s stadium.

Both teams have midweek fixtures looming: Stoke host an FA Cup replay against Palace on Tuesday, while Chelsea entertain the side we recently beat 5-1 in the same competition, Southampton, on Wednesday. That is the league game postponed from December when we were in Japan.


- Match preview by chelseafc.com